Tool for applying traction devices on wheels



March 30, 1948. M. H. DOEBERT 2,438,547

TOOL FOR APPLYING TRACTION DEVICES 0N WHEELS Filed Feb. 1'7, 1945Patented Mal- 30,

TOOL FOR APPLYING TRACTION DEVICES ON WHEELS Martin H. Doebert, Buffalo,N. Y.

Application February 17, 1945, Serial No. 578,408

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to a tool for applying traction devices, commonlyknown as skid chains, mud books or the like, to the circular tire andrim of a wheel which assembly, for convenience, will be hereafterreferred to as the runner of the wheel.

As is well known considerable difiiculty is ex perienced in applyingtraction devices to the runners of wheels, particularly where the latterare mounted on the car close to the fenders or other parts of the same.

It is therefore the object of this invention to provide a tool forapplying traction devices to the runners of wheels which is very simplein construction, which permits of easily and conveniently applyingtraction devices to wheel runners and which can also be utilized forcleaning dirt, snow and ice from a wheel when required, also forremoving the side disks from automobiles and like work and also foldedcompactly for storage when not in use.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a cross section of the circular runner of a wheel showing themanner in which the tool 01 this invention is used for applying atraction device to the runner.

Fig, 2 is a plan View of this tool on a reduced scale and the handlethereof in a position for use as a chisel for removing dirt, snow andice.

Fig.3 is a section, On an enlarged scale, taken on line 3-3, Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view, partly in section, showing theattaching end of the app ying tool engaged with the fastening strap atone end of a traction device and the latch or keeper of this tool in itsopen or inoperative position.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal section taken on line 5-5, Fig. 4but showing the keeper in its closed or operative position.

Fig. 6 is a cross section taken on line 6-4;, Fig. 5.

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary view of a modified form of this invention.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the same.

In the following description, similar reference characters indicate likeparts in the several views of the drawings.

The tool which embodies the improvement of this invention may beorganized for applying traction devices of various kinds to automobilewheels varying in construction and the traction device and wheel shownin the drawings may therefore be regarded as examples of such devicesand wheels. As shown in Fig. 1, the numeral l0 represents the rim orfelly of an automobile wheel on the periphery of which is mounted apneumatic tire comprising an outer shoe or casing H which is of U-shapein cross section and provides the tread of the tire and an inner tube i2adapted to be inflated by air to maintain the tire in its distendedoperative condition. This rim and the casing and tube of the tire will,for convenience of description, be hereinafter sometimes referred to bythe general term as the circular runner of the wheel. The rim of thewheel may be mounted on the hub of the same in any suitable manner butpreferably by means of a circular disk l3 which is provided with anannular flange H engaging the inner side of the wheel rim and providedadjacent to said flange with a plurality of circumferential slots l5 oneof which is shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The traction device commonly known as a non-skid chain or mud hookconsists generally of a chain section or gripping member l6 adapted topass crosswise around the tread and sides of the, tire, an attachingstra I! connected with the inner end of the chain section by means of aninner bar I8 and adapted to pass outward through a slot l5 of the wheeldisk. and a buckle I9 which is connected by a bar 20 with the outer endof the chain section or gripping member and to which the attaching strapis adapted to be fastened in the usual and approved manner. At its outerend the attaching strap I1 is provided with an opening 9 for apurpose'which will presently appear,

As is well known the passing of the traction device around the tire orrunner members of the wheel preparatory to connecting the ends of thesame, is usually attended with considerable difflculty andinconvenience, especially during inclement weather when it is raining orsnowing or the road is muddy or icy.

The applying tool or device which is made in accordance with myinvention and permits the traction device to be quickly and convenientlyattached to the runner of a wheel is preferably constructed as follows:

The numeral 2| represents the body 01' the tool which has the form of alongitudinal strip or band of resilient material such as spring steel.

the rear part 22 of which tends to curve into the shape of the letter Cand the front part 23 of which tends to assume a tangent or straightshape relative to the rear part, as shown in Fig. 1.

On its front end the spring band 2| is provided with a clasp or gripperwhich is adapted to grasp the outer end of the strap I! of the tractiondethe slot IS in the wheel disk l3 and pulling the traction devicearound the tire and rim of the wheel. This clasp comprises an inner orlower gripper jaw 24-adapted to engage the inner side of this strap andan outer jaw or keeper 25 which is adapted to engage with the outer sideof this strap.

On its inner side the inner jaw 24 of the clasp is provided with acoupling pin 26 which projects toward the inner side of the outer jaw 25and is adapted to extend into the opening 9 in the attaching strap andengage a side thereof, as shown in Fig. 5. At its inner end thiscoupling pin is provided with a ,rearwardly projecting sharp prong orhook 21 which is adapted to penetrate a part of the wall or bore of theopening 9 between opposite sides of the strap, and thereby secure apositive non-slipping hold on the attaching strap and reliably connectthe traction device with the tool whereby the same is applied to thewheel runner.

In the construction shown in Figs, 1 and 3-6, the outer jaw 25 ispivotally connected at its inner end with the spring strip by means of arivet 28 whereby this jaw may be turned to one side of the coupling pinand its hook so as to clear the same and thus permit the attaching strapto be connected with the spring strip by passing this hook into the hole9 of the strap and pushing the prong into the, wall or bore of this.hole so as to penetrate the material of the strap a suflicient extent toform a positive interlock between this hook and the strap and reliablyconnect the same, as shown in Fig, 4. After the pin and hook have beenthus engaged with the hole in the attaching strap the upper jaw isturned inwardly so that it extends over this pin and hook and theperforated end of the attaching strap, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 5 and 6,and securely coupling the traction device with the applying tool.

In the construction shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the

outer jaw 25 is connected with the front part of the spring strip 2| bymeans of two rivets 29, 29 so that this jaw cannot turn on the springstrip and therefore projects permanently over the coupling pin and hook.This form ofthe clasp requires the inner and outer jaws 24, 25 to springapart to permit the'attaching strap of the traction device to beconnected with and disconnected from the coupling pin and hook.

When using this applying tool the relatively straight front'end of thespring-strip together with the connecting clasp therein is passed firstthrough the slot I5 of the wheel disk from the outer to the inner sideof the wheel and thereafter the greater part of the curved rear end ofthe spring strip is passed through this slot, thereby carrying thestraight front part of the spring strip upwardly along theinner side ofthe tire and outwardlyoverjtheltread;of the same whereby the couplingclasp; isjmoved. into a position in which thesame is-eais'ily accessiblefor connecting the same ,with theattaching strap of the traction device,asshown in Fig. 1. While the applying tool is in this position, its rearend projects from the outer side'of the. wheel disk a suflicientdistance to permit of grasping the same and pulling outwardly therein.Thereafter the applying tool is pulled outwardly until the same has beenfully withdrawn from the slot |5 of the wheel disk and the attachingstrap of the traction device has also been pulled outwardly sufiicientlyto carry the chains or ground gripp g around the runner of the wheel,the front end of the lower jaw 24 is extended forwardly beyond the frontend of the companion upper jaw 25,

as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 5, 7 and 8, so as to serve as a guard along thefront edge of the jaw 25 and prevent the same from being caught on partsadjacent to its path, and this extended part of the inner jaw 24 is alsocurved or inclined toward the outer jaw 25, as shown at 30 in Figs. 1-,5 and 8, thereby causing this curved surface upon engaging any partsduring the operation of placing the tool into its receiving position tobe deflected away from said parts and thus avoid interference with theuse of this'tool.

The slot l5 in the wheel disk I3 is only slightly wider than the widthof the stra I! of the traction device to permit the latter to passfreely through the same but the width of the spring be liable to catchon the inner side of the wheeldisk during the operation of pulling thetraction device around the wheel runner unless some means were providedto prevent such an occurrence and permit the attaching strap to passfreely through said slot without encountering any obstruction.

If desired the applying tool may be manipulated by taking direct handhold on the rear end of the body or spring strip 2| but it is preferableto employ a separate handle for this purpose which consists of a bar 35pivoted midway of its length to the rear end of the spring strip bymeans of a rivet 36 and provided at one end with a chisel formation 31and at its opposite end with a pointed or V-shaped formation 38, whichpermits of using this bar or handle for removing dirt or ice from thewheel, also removing the side disk l3 of the wheel and also performingother work which may be necessary.

When this applying tool is not in use the handle bar 35 may be turned onthe body 2| so as to be arranged parallel therewith and thus 'render thetool more compact for carriage and storage. Preparatory to using thetool the handle bar is turned on the spring strip so that it stands atright angles thereto. as shown in Fig, 2, in which position the same maybeconveniently grasped by the handle for actuating the tool.

For the purpose of preventing the corners 3| of the attaching strap frombeing caught on the wheel disk on either side of the slot I5, the frontpart of the jaw or keeper 25 is made as wide, and preferably slightlywider, than the width of the front end of the attaching strap and theoppo'site longitudinal edges 32 of the same are made parallel, as shownin Figs. 4 and -7, so that when this jaw 25 covers this part of thestrap the 5 longitudinal edges 33 of the rear part ll of the jaw 25 arealso inclined and diverge forwardly, as shown in Figs. 2, 4 and 7, sothat when the clasp with the traction strap l1 attached thereto is drawnoutwardly through the slot [5 one or the other of said inclines 33 willengage with one or another end of the slot l5 and shift the clasplaterally into a position in which it is centered relative to the slotI5. The inner jaw 24 of the attaching clasp is preferably made in onepiece with the body 2| of the spring strip and extended in the sameplane from the front end of the latter but the front and rear parts ofthe outer jaw 25 are ofl-set from each other and its front part isspacedfrom the inner jaw 24 to provide a space for reception of the attachingstrap ll while the rear part of the jaw 25 engages the strip 2| and isconnected therewith. In order to prevent the shoulder 39 which is formedbetween the front and rearpart of the jaw 25 from catching on the wheeldisk, upon withdrawing the same outwardly through the slot is in thisdisk, this shoulder 39 is inclined or curved. as shown in Fig. 5, andthus operates as a wedge which deflects the jaw 25 from the edge of theslot 15 and thereby facilitates application of the traction device tothe wheel runner.

If the slot 15 in the wheel disk I3 is obstructed by mud or ice thesecan be readily removed or cleaned away by means of either the chisel 31or the point 38 of the handle bar and thus facilitate the operation ofapplying the traction device to the runner of the wheel by means of thistool under varying weather conditions.-

Obviously this applying device can be used for attaching devices, otherthan that shown in the drawings, to the runners of wheels, for exampletraction devices in which the chains are replaced by toothed plates orsimilar members which are capable of gripping the ground or roadway.

I claim as my invention: v

A tool for applying a traction device, having a perforated strap, to thecircular part of a wheel; which tool comprises a strip shaped pullingbody, and means for attaching thefront end of said body to said strapincluding two jaws adapted to receive the perforated part of said strapbetween them, and one of said jaws being provided with a centrallypositioned stud extending toward the other one of said jaws and having arearwardly projecting prong at the .top thereof adapted to penetrate thebore or wall of the perforation in the strap.

MARTIN H. DOEBERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

